Home Office

Community Protection Notices: Appeals

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany appeals against the issue of Community Protection Notice were successful in each year since 2015; and whether they have any plans to review the appeals process to ensure that it is operating as intended.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy the powers in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, including Community Protection Notices (CPN), depending on the specific circumstances. They are best placed to understand what is driving the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response. The Home Office do not hold any data on appeals.The Home Office published statutory guidance to support local areas to make effective use of these powers. The guidance sets out the importance of focusing on the needs of the victim and the local community, as well as ensuring that the relevant legal tests are met. This guidance was updated in March 2023 to ensure a victim-centred approach to tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) as well as stronger use of the powers and tools in the 2014 Act. The guidance is regularly reviewed and updated in line with stakeholder feedback on the powers to ensure greater and more consistent use.On 27 March 2023, in parallel with publication of the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan, the Government launched a consultation on the ASB powers and Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs). The consultation, which was referenced in the ASB Action Plan, was intended to garner views on strengthening powers, including CPNs, to tackle ASB; and strengthening the relationship between CSPs and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to give PCCs a greater role in CSP activity, including how they tackle ASB. A Government response to the findings in the consultation will be published in due course.

Asylum: Children

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 26 September (HL10118),whether the live operational databases referred to in that answer have a field for inputting the child's age; and if so, when the age is initially entered, how the age is initially determined, and how, when, and by whom, it is quality assured.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The majority of those arriving in the UK illegally do not have valid documentary evidence of their age and some may misrepresent their age whether intentionally or not. There are clear safeguarding issues which arise if a child is inadvertently treated as an adult, and equally if an adult is wrongly accepted as a child and placed in accommodation with younger children to whom they could present a risk.Where a new arrival does not have genuine documentary evidence of their age and their claimed age is doubted, an initial age decision is conducted as a first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or child from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure that new arrivals are routed into the correct accommodation and processes for assessing their immigration claim. Most of these initial decisions on age are conducted at the Western Jet Foil, Dover on those who arrive via small boat, although the policy applies nationally and across modes to help establish age where new arrivals are first encountered.The ‘Assessing Age’ guidance details the Home Office’s age assessment policy for immigration purposes. Where doubt remains and an individual cannot be assessed to be significantly over 18, they will be treated as a child for immigration purposes and referred to a local authority for further consideration on their age, usually in the form of a ‘Merton compliant’ age assessment. This typically involves two qualified social workers undertaking a series of interviews with the young person and considering any other information relevant to their age.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws: To ask His Majesty's Government how are decisions made on, and what is the process for, resettling more Afghans from Pakistan who are facing expulsion in addition to the 3,000 already accepted under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme; and what steps they are taking in that regard, including on prioritising the 20 female Afghan judges who are in Pakistan.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Resettlement of eligible Afghans remains a top priority for this government. As of June 2023, around 24,600 vulnerable people affected by the events in Afghanistan have been brought to safety. This includes British Nationals and their families, Afghans who loyally served the UK and others identified as particularly at-risk, such as campaigners for women’s rights, human rights defenders, Chevening scholars, journalists, judges and members of the LGBT+ community.We are aware of the recent Government of Pakistan announcements regarding Afghans in Pakistan and appreciate the impact of this on those awaiting resettlement. HMG has engaged intensively with the Government of Pakistan to secure assurances that none of those eligible under the UK’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be subject to deportation.Visas continue to be issued to individuals eligible for the ACRS and ARAP schemes and flights are continuing to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.The ACRS is not open to applications. Instead, eligible individuals are prioritised and referred for resettlement to the UK through the existing pathways under this scheme. We are not certain which female Afghan judges the question refers to; however our Afghan schemes have been designed to be fair and equitable in identifying those in need of resettlement or relocation to the UK. As has been the practice under successive governments, the Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.We recognise there are many vulnerable individuals who remain in Afghanistan and the region. Whilst the UK maintains a generous resettlement offer, we must recognise that the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited, and difficult decisions have to be made on who will be prioritised for resettlement.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

HIV Infection: Development Aid

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to facilitate knowledge exchange and collaboration among countries to accelerateprogress toward the global goals of ending new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths by 2030.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The FCDO remains a key funder and political supporter of major multilateral organisations and global health institutions, including WHO, UNITAID, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and others, and engages closely with these partners to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration at every level to accelerate progress on the HIV epidemic. For example, we continue to invest core funding in UNAIDS which remains the global source of authoritative, comprehensive and disaggregated data and information on the global HIV epidemic. We also provide core funding to the WHO, which has recently published new guidelines on HIV, sexually transmitted infections and viral hepatitis prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations, which will support countries and local organisations in designing and implementing their HIV strategies and interventions.

Gaza: Casualties

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have calculated, or estimated on a daily or weekly basis, the numbers of United Nations and non-government aid workers, both local and expatriate, who have been killed in Gaza during the past month during their routine humanitarian work.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We recognise the difficulty for organisations like the UN to accurately verify numbers. We are aware that there have been significant casualties, including humanitarian workers. The UK position is clear: all sides must abide by their international obligations; all sides must respect International Humanitarian Law and all side must respect civilians. Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have, in their discussions with their Israeli counterparts, emphasised the importance of taking all possible measures to protect civilians.

Human Rights: Business

Baroness Goudie: To ask His Majesty's Government to report on their participation in the negotiations on a United Nations binding treaty on business and human rights during theninth session of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights.

Baroness Goudie: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of (1) callingfor stronger provisions on legal liability and clear redress for victims, and (2) ensuring references to the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, in a United Nationsbinding treaty on business and human rights.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government is committed to supporting the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights and in response produced a National Action Plan. The UK attended the 9th Session of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations, which discussed the merits of introducing a new instrument or framework that could elaborate on business human rights responsibilities. The UK statement, which is available on the Working Group website, outlined suggestions on provisions of the draft instrument text, including the definition of victims. We seek flexibility in the construction of the instrument and in the negotiations process and will continue to engage in future Working Group Sessions.

South Sudan: Refugees

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofthe consequences of the civil war in Sudan for South Sudan, specifically the effect of tens of thousands of refugees arriving in Abyei; and what has been the humanitarian response of the UK to date, and through which channels.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The conflict in Sudan has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation in South Sudan, including in the Abeyi Administrative Area. On 24 May 2023, FCDO's Minister for Development and Africa announced £19 million in humanitarian aid for South Sudan this financial year. This is supporting those already in need in South Sudan, and refugees and returnees fleeing from the violence in Sudan. On 20 September, FCDO's Minister for Development and Africa met South Sudanese President Salva Kiir to discuss progress on implementation of South Sudan's Peace Agreement. They also discussed efforts to secure peace in Sudan and our response to the growing humanitarian crisis.

South Sudan and Sudan: Health Services

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend(1) to help to restore essential health services in the conflict zones of Sudan, and (2) to support South Sudan in providing health services for refugees.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In Sudan, the UK continues to provide support to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF). In this calendar year, we have provided £3.5 million to ICRC, to support their 2023 appeal, which includes support to health facilities. In South Sudan, the UK has been a leading donor to the health sector for more than ten years, spending over £280 million. Our Health Pooled Fund programme, co-funded by partners, seeks to deliver improved health and wellbeing for the population of South Sudan. This programme supports 512 public health facilities across seven of South Sudan's ten states and around 4,000 community health workers to deliver essential health services.

South Sudan and Sudan: Health Services

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to address the continuing health crises in Sudan and South Sudan, particularly given the worsening malaria outbreaks in those countries.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In Sudan, the UK continues to provide support to the health sector through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF). The UK is one of the largest donors to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, pledging £1 billion to the Global Fund over the next three years. This Fund treated 4.2 million cases of malaria in Sudan and South Sudan in 2022.To effectively tackle disease outbreaks in South Sudan, the FCDO works closely with the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team who aid investigations and coordinate information flow between the South Sudanese ministries of Health, World Health Organization and in-country partners. The UK's Health Pooled Fund, co-funded with other partners, has treated 1.6 million children in South Sudan for common childhood diseases and vaccinated over 288,000 children.

HIV Infection: Development Aid

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support community-ledefforts in other countries that focus on HIV (1) prevention, (2) awareness, and (3) support for key affected populations, such as sex workers, LGBTQ+ communities, and people who use drugs.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Addressing stigma and discrimination and ensuring equality of access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment services is critical to the global HIV response. Our funding to the Robert Carr Fund and to UNAIDS helps to support legal and policy reform to combat stigma and discrimination and to improve access to HIV services, including prevention, awareness and support services, for key populations, particularly LGBT+ communities. The UK is a champion for human rights. Our £1 billion pledge to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria will support its Strategy which includes focus on addressing inequities and structural drivers of HIV infection and AIDS-related deaths including legal barriers.

Ukraine: Religious Freedom

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of freedom of religion or belief in Ukraine; and what discussions they have had with the government of Ukraine about its decision to introduce in October draft legislationseeking to amend Ukrainian law on freedom of conscience and religious organisations.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Ukraine. This includes widespread destruction of religious sites, and the imposition of restrictive Russian laws in the temporarily controlled territories. The UK is tracking the development of Ukraine's draft law and continues to encourage our Ukrainian partners to ensure that the law is fully aligned with Ukraine's FoRB commitments. We are clear that the only way to restore the full enjoyment of FoRB in Ukraine is for Russia to end its invasion and withdraw its troops.

Tigray: Genocide

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to implement their duty to punish the crime of genocide in Tigray, as required by Article I of the Genocide Convention, including the prosecution of the crime under section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001, or as required by other domestic laws allowing for prosecutions of international crimes by domestic courts, including the Geneva Conventions Act 1957.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: It is the long-standing policy of the Government that determinations of genocide should be made by a competent and independent international court. This approach is fully consistent with our obligations under the Genocide Convention and Rome Statute. Whether or not genocide is declared, the UK will continue to work to end violations of international human rights law and, where appropriate, international humanitarian law, and to alleviate the suffering of those affected. The UK is committed to protecting human rights in Ethiopia and across the globe. We provide funding for the UN Office for the High Commission of Human Rights and the African Union independent monitoring of human rights in Tigray, and support the investigative capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission through our £4.5 million Human Rights and Peacebuilding programme.

North Korea: Refugees

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to highlight the refoulement of North Korean refugees from North Korea to China.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We acknowledge recent reports that China has started forcibly repatriating North Korean escapees to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). We emphasise directly to the Chinese authorities that they should not be detaining and forcefully repatriating North Korean refugees. The UK is also raising awareness of this issue at the UN. At both the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur for the Human Rights Situation in North Korea on 24 October, and the 17 August UN Security Council meeting on the human rights situation in the DPRK, the UK called on all states to abide by the principle of non-refoulement.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Housing

The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that single living and service family accommodation is adequately maintained this winter.

The Earl of Minto: To ensure Single Living Accommodation is adequately maintained this winter, the Department has introduced enhanced planned maintenance for heating and hot water systems with "plug-in" functionality for temporary boilers and generators to improve resilience, reliability, and availability across a significant number of Single Living Accommodation. Furthermore, fault, defect and maintenance management information for heating, hot water, damp and mould is being enhanced, enabling pro-active interventions that will reduce the probability of failure and improve the reliability of installations.All Single Living Accommodation service contracts are recognised to be performing to the required Key Performance Indicator standards. A Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) to communicate the action that has been taken to prepare for Service Family Accommodation over the winter period was laid in the House on 13 November 2023. A link to the WMS can be found below:https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-11-13/hcws28 The WMS includes planned works to address issues such as damp and mould that have greater impact in winter; and measures to improve performance delivering responsive repairs resulting from, or occurring during, inclement weather.

Cuba and Russia: Armed Forces

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have carried out any analysis of thenumber of troops from Cuba who may be fighting for Russia against Ukraine.

The Earl of Minto: The Ministry of Defence are aware of the open-source reports on networks operating in Cuba and Russia alleged to have facilitated young Cubans to join Russia’s war in Ukraine. We are concerned that these individuals have been deceived and recruited to fight for Russia.

Department for Transport

Avanti West Coast: Compensation

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any representations toAvanti Trains concerning implementation of the “one click” automatic delay repay system as operated by LNER.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Department has not made any representations to Avanti Trains concerning implementation of the ‘one click’ automatic delay repay system as operated by LNER. Avanti West Coast has its own Delay Repay portal where passengers who were delayed by more than 15 minutes on an Avanti service can self-serve their claims provided this is within 28 days of the affected journey. Delayed passengers who booked advance tickets directly with Avanti and who registered for Delay Repay beforehand will automatically receive an email with details on how to claim.

Avanti West Coast: Standards

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to Avanti Trains about the number of train cancellations they announcedfollowing the extension of theirfranchise for a further three years in September.

Lord Davies of Gower: Planned timetable reductions were agreed in accordance with the requirements set out in Avanti West Coast’s (AWC’s) contract. Temporary reductions are required to minimise the impact of unplanned, short-notice cancellations on passengers. Officials continue to meet Avanti’s senior management weekly, and we will continue to hold AWC responsible for matters within its control.

Trains: WiFi

Lord Swire: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to make the provision of reliable Wi-Fi on trains a condition of awarding franchises.

Lord Davies of Gower: His Majesty’s Government supports improving digital connectivity on the railways and are working closely with the rail industry to consider ways to deliver better connectivity. Train operators are currently required, through franchise agreements, to provide free Wi-Fi on trains and, where required through Committed Obligations, further interventions on trains.

Cabinet Office

Import Controls

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish (1) their full modelling on the inflationary impact of the Border Target Operating Model, and (2) their full modelling on the additional cost to be incurred by businesses as a result of the Border Target Operating Model; and if so, when.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassumptions they have made on the Common User Charge and charges to be applied at other Border Control Posts in (1) their modelling on the inflationary impact of the Border Target Operating Model, and (2) their modelling on the additional cost to be incurred by businesses as a result of the Border Target Operating Model.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will repeat their modelling of (1) the inflationary impact of the Border Target Operating Model, and (2) the additional cost to be incurred by businesses resulting from the Border Target Operating Model, once a decision on a Common User Charge is published; and if so, whether they will publish any such further modelling.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government’s modelling of the inflationary impact of the Border Target Operating Model was based on an academically peer-reviewed food price inflation model and focused on quantifying the impact on relevant non-tariff measures - policy measures likely to have an economic impact on international trade as they affect the price or quantity of traded products. The food price inflation model is available here: https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/128070/Final%20Report_Defra_December%202021.pdf?sequence=2. The non-tariff measures analysed included those related to checks (for example the cost of pre-notification, the cost of Export Health Certificates and port fees) as well as upstream impacts (for example administrative processing time, training, certificates of origin and security deposits or guarantees when moving agricultural goods under licence). We used a range of data sources to quantify and assess the relative impact of the different non-tariff measures associated with the Border Target Operating Model. The data included commercially sensitive information that would not be appropriate to put into the public domain, and in accordance with the principles of statistical propriety we cannot publish a partial explanation that includes only the publicly available sources. We will publish our plans for the Common User Charge shortly. The Common User Charge will apply to Government-run Border Control Posts in England and may be extended to include other Government-run Border Control Posts across Great Britain once infrastructure plans have been finalised. We do not expect to have to amend our calculation of inflationary impact following publication of these plans.

Import Controls

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what contingencyplanning they have undertaken to manage any disruption to imports to the UK resulting from any potential problems with the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Government departments are engaging with stakeholders across all affected sectors in all parts of the United Kingdom and the EU to ensure that they understand the coming changes outlined in the Border Target Operating Model and are ready to continue to move goods across the border. We have not identified any specific risk of disruption to imports to the UK as a consequence of the BTOM at this stage and will continue to engage with all parts of the supply chain ahead of each implementation stage.In implementing this new control regime for the first time on EU imports we are carefully monitoring the range of potential risks, including those that may impact food supply-chains.We are working with importers to try to manage those risks in a structured way, considering whether there are appropriate contingencies which we or they can deploy if and when required.In accordance with usual practice, we will undertake a programme of operational testing with users of the border prior to the changes being implemented to ensure that any potential issues are identified and resolved. We recognise this new model for importing Sanitary and Phytosanitary goods will require some businesses and their supply-chains to adapt their business models.Information is being shared through a series of live and virtual engagement events and communications outlining actions required as a result of the new changes. Guidance is available on GOV.UK.

Infected Blood Inquiry

Baroness Featherstone: To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to page 60 of the Infected Blood Inquiry's second interim report, published on 5 April, what work they have been done to register those eligible for interim compensation payments with existing support schemes, before the final report is published.

Baroness Featherstone: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response torecommendation 18 of the Infected Blood Inquiry's second interim report, published on 5 April, that a compensation scheme should be set up now and it should begin work this year.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government continues to make progress with the work necessary to enable a response to the full report when it is published in March next year. It is only reasonable that the Inquiry, whose work is in train, concludes and provides their final recommendations before the Government takes action. The Government recognises that there is interest in pre-registration for compensation ahead of its response to the Inquiry’s final report. However, as the Minister for the Cabinet Office set out to the Inquiry in July, opening registration for compensation before the Government has finalised its response would be a difficult step to take.

Department of Health and Social Care

Cancer: Waiting Lists

Lord Bailey of Paddington: To ask His Majesty's Government how many cancer patients met the 62-day treatment target between urgent GP referral and first definitive treatment in (1) 2020, (2) 2021, (3) 2022, and (4) 2023 to date; and what steps they are taking to reduce waiting times for patients who have been diagnosed with cancer and are waiting for their treatment.

Lord Markham: The number of cancer patients that met the 62-day treatment target between urgent general practitioner referral and first definitive treatment in 2020 was 113,704; in 2021 was 119,302; in 2022 was 111,649 and in 2023 to date where most recent data is available till September 2023 is 83,129.The Department is taking steps to reduce cancer treatment waiting times across England, including the time between diagnosis and commencement of treatment for cancer. The Government is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care and plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity.In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced it is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances in each of the next two years to support delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity for cancer.Additionally, the Government recently published the Major Conditions Strategy Case for Change and Our Strategic Framework on 14 August 2023 which sets out our approach to making the choices over the next five years that will deliver the most value in facing the health challenges of today and of the decades ahead, including for cancer.

Cancer: Children

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask His Majesty's Government what actionthey aretaking to tackle childhood cancer.

Lord Markham: The Government is taking steps to tackle childhood cancer, by improving early diagnosis, delivering more research, and driving progress in genomic medicine.Improving early diagnosis is essential for children with cancer. The National Health Service is working to deliver the ambition set in its Long Term Plan to diagnose 75% of cancers at stages one and two by 2028. This is backed by £2.3 billion funding to transform diagnostic services, with 123 new community diagnostic centres opened, giving millions of patients the chance to access quicker, more convenient checks. In addition, the NHS is expanding direct access to diagnostic scans across all general practitioner (GP) practices, helping GPs recognise cancer symptoms, cutting waiting times and speeding up diagnosis.Delivering more research is key to understanding the causes of childhood cancer and increasing survival rates. Over the past five years, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has invested £13.9 million on 38 research projects into childhood cancers. In addition, alongside Cancer Research UK, health departments across the United Kingdom are jointly funding a network of 18 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, collectively investing more than £35 million between 2017 and 2022, driving the discovery, development, and testing of new treatments. This includes the Paediatric Network that the NIHR co-funds with The Little Princess Trust, dedicated to early-phase research on childhood cancers.Ensuring all children with cancer get access to ground-breaking genomic medicine is vital. The NHS now offers all children with cancer whole genome sequencing, to enable comprehensive and precise diagnosis and personalised treatments. In July, the Government announced a multi-year partnership agreement with the pharmaceutical giant BioNTech which will accelerate the company's clinical trials in the UK and could provide up to 10,000 patients with personalised cancer immunotherapies by 2030.In addition, the Department is taking steps to better understand the landscape of childhood cancer with experts, aided by Dame Caroline Dinenage MP.Through improving diagnosis, encouraging research, and ensuring access to ground-breaking treatment, the Government will continue to take steps to tackle childhood cancer.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Private Rented Housing: Racial Discrimination

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to combat racial discrimination in the rental market and ensure fair and equal access to housing for all.

Baroness Penn: Everyone in the private rented sector is entitled to a safe and decent home. Landlords and agents are prohibited from discriminating against those with protected characteristics in the private rented sector under the Equality Act 2010, with exceptions for age, marriage and civil partnerships. The Equality Act prohibits direct and indirect discrimination alongside harassment and victimisation.

Private Rented Housing: Evictions

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what support, if any, they intend to provide totenants who are evicted from their homes under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 before a ban on such evictions comes into effect.

Baroness Penn: The current arrangements will continue to apply for tenants served with a section 21 notice. As highlighted in our ‘How to rent’ guide, tenants who have been issued with a section 21 notice should seek advice from advice services and contact their local housing authority.Local authorities are experienced at supporting households who are threatened with homelessness. Households who are at risk of homelessness due to having been served with a valid section 21 notice can approach their local authority who will provide them with assistance to seek to prevent their homelessness.The Government is committed to preventing homelessness where possible. We are investing over £1 billion in the Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG) over three years, including a £109 million top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant this year (2023-24), which will support local authorities to help prevent vulnerable households from becoming homeless, including households who have been served a section 21 notice.

Boundary Commissions: Correspondence

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: To ask His Majesty's Government which means of communication are mandatory for constituents affected by boundary changes; and what assessment they have made of how effective these processes have been in ensuring constituents in affected constituencies are informed in advance of any such changes.

Baroness Penn: During a boundary review, the four independent Boundary Commissions must take such steps as they see fit to inform the public in each of the proposed constituencies of their proposals, and to make a copy of the proposals open to public inspection within the proposed constituency. The Boundary Commissions are required to hold three periods of public consultation which includes holding public hearings. The Boundary Commissions are required to publish their final reports.The conduct of the boundary review within this statutory framework is a matter for the four independent Boundary Commissions.

Devolution

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promotesocial cohesion and understanding between the devolved administrations.

Baroness Penn: This Government is committed to a vision of British society where people – whatever their background – live, work, learn and socialise together, based on shared rights, responsibilities, and opportunities. A more cohesive society leads to lower levels of prejudice and hate crime, and greater opportunities for all, creating socially and economically stronger and more confident communities.While the policy area and many of the policy functions related to community cohesion are essentially a devolved matter, there is a clear need for engagement with the devolved administrations on this topic. We therefore regularly seek opportunities to have discussions on our understanding of shared problems and the actions we can take to address them, including through forums such as the British Irish Council, the next of which is taking place in Dublin this week.

Homes England: East of England

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had withHomes England on developing legacy allocated land for residential development at Great Kyne (Castor and Ailsworth) in Peterborough to meet the housing delivery targets in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and the East of England.

Baroness Penn: In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Women and Equalities

Cars: Hire Services

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by some car hire companies not to hire out cars to drivers aged 75 or over.

Baroness Swinburne: Age discrimination in the provision of services is generally unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. There are, however, situations where a service provider can show that differential treatment between, for example, adults aged under and over 75 is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, which the 2010 Act permits.Whilst the Government does not comment on particular cases, it is for individuals to consider whether they wish to take action where they feel they are being unlawfully treated on age grounds. Where a company cannot show that their leasing age policy is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, the individual affected can bring a claim to the County Court, or Sheriff’s Court in Scotland. The court may determine whether the “objective justification test” has been satisfied, and may award costs and compensation if the claimant wins their case.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Diesel and Petrol: Prices

The Earl of Shrewsbury: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the pricing structure of petrol and diesel fuel sold in motorway service stations; and what if any action they intend to take to ensure a fair pricing structure, which is competitive with off-motorway suppliers, is enforced.

Lord Callanan: The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) found drivers without fuel cards pay more at motorway service stations due to limited competitive pressures. Differences in costs, including rent, staff wages and fuel volume sold also cause price variations. This autumn, we will consult on CMA recommendations for a road fuel price open data scheme and elements of a monitoring function. The government has tabled amendments to the Digital Markets, Competition & Consumer Bill to give the CMA information gathering powers for the monitoring function. Upon Royal Assent of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, smart data powers will be used to enact regulations for the open data scheme.

Attorney General

Crown Prosecution Serivce: Gender

Lord Lucas: To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings or conversations the Crown Prosecution Service has had with (1) Stonewall or other campaigners for transgender rights, and (2) campaigners for the gender critical point of view, in the past three years; and on what policies or practices were these groups consulted during that time.

Lord Stewart of Dirleton: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold a central record of all local and national meetings with stakeholders across all 14 CPS Areas and Central Casework Divisions over the past three years. The level of resource involved in obtaining this information would be disproportionate.It has been possible to identify the number of meetings the CPS has had with Stonewall at a national headquarters level during the years 2022, and 2023, and this has been answered in PQ 671. The level of resource involved in obtaining the same information from earlier years would be disproportionate.

Ministry of Justice

Civil Proceedings: Legal Costs

Lord Tyrie: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the status of litigation funding agreements following the Supreme Court's judgment inR (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others[2023] UKSC 28.

Lord Bellamy: The Government is bringing forward an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer (DMCC) Bill to mitigate the impact of the judgment on litigation funding agreements for opt-out collective proceedings in the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT). The Bill is currently being considered by Parliament.The Government is assessing the impact of the judgment and considering options for non-CAT proceedings.

Pets: Fireworks

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Benyon on 10 November (HL11), how many prosecutions there have been in each year since the implementation of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 of individuals causing animals unnecessary suffering as a result of the misuse of fireworks; and how many of those resulted in a custodial sentence.

Lord Bellamy: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on prosecutions, convictions and sentence outcomes in the Outcome by Offence data tool including offences as set out in the Offence Group Classification. This can be found via the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The total number of individuals prosecuted and sentence outcomes for causing, permitting, or failing to prevent unnecessary suffering of animals, under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, can be obtained by selecting HO code 09701 and 10829.However, whether this was specifically due to the misuse of fireworks is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings Database. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Department for Education

Education: Competition

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking to ensure that the education system remains globally competitive.

Baroness Barran: The government is dedicated to improving the education system to improve outcomes for children and young people, and this will help maintain its global competitiveness.A key part of this is our relentless focus on driving up education standards to deliver better outcomes. In 2023, primary aged children in England came 4th out of 43 countries which tested pupils of the same age, in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, making them the best in the western world at reading. In 2019, primary aged pupils in England achieved their highest ever score in mathematics in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, a significant improvement compared to 2015.At secondary level, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment 2018 results showed that 15-year-olds in England performed above the OECD averages for reading, mathematics, and science. Since 2009, 15-year-olds in England have climbed 10 places in reading and mathematics.This government is committed to creating a world-leading skills system which is employer-focused, high-quality, and fit for the future. Our reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives; and to improve national productivity. This includes increasing opportunities for people to develop higher technical skills through T Levels, Apprenticeship Standards, Skills Bootcamps, or Higher Technical Qualifications. All of which have been developed hand in glove with thousands of employers and introduced under this government.From 2025, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement will transform access to further and higher education, offering all adults the equivalent of four years’ worth of student loans to use flexibly on quality education training over their lifetime. The department will introduce the Advanced British Standard (ABS) for 16-19 year-olds, a new Baccalaureate-style qualification that takes the best of A levels and T Levels and brings them together into a single qualification.The ABS will increase the number of taught hours by an extra 15% for most 16-19 students, increasing the average number of subjects students take and ensuring that all students continue to study mathematics and English. This will give students greater breadth of knowledge and bring us more in line with other countries. The department will make an initial downpayment now to support the ABS, which will focus on recruiting and retaining teachers in shortage subjects and providing better resources for teachers and pupils.Since 2010, the department has driven up standards in education, and created more opportunities to gain new skills that businesses truly value. So whatever age or stage of life people are at they can access high-quality opportunities to get ahead in their chosen career.